Objective/Research Question: This paper reports on data collected in a multi-year National Science Foundation grant project involving a professional development (PD) model built to support community college faculty as change agents (CAs). The research question was: How do disciplinary communities of practice (CoP) emerge among community college…

Recently, studies have adopted fixed effects modeling to identify the returns to college. This method has the advantage over ordinary least squares estimates in that unobservable, individual-level characteristics that may bias the estimated returns are differenced out. But the method requires extensive longitudinal data and involves complex…

Design thinking is a strategy for innovation popularized in the business press and recently investigated in academic literature. Some research points to design thinking as an enabler of an organizational culture of innovation. Much research demonstrates a link between a culture of innovation and successful business outcomes in every sector, and…

This study examined the differences between a multi-campus sample of university students who reported consistent participation in formal leadership development programs (n=414) and a comparison sample (n=153) with no prior experience across three diverse post-secondary institutions in the United States. Both samples were matched with regard to…

Developing countries have significantly expanded efforts to import more flexible short-cycle institutions based on the United States community college model. The U.S. community college model addresses human capital needs of the labor market in developing countries by increasing access to an affordable education. However, there is limited research…

To support the long-term success of underprepared students, many community colleges are experimenting with accelerated developmental education models, which allow students to complete remediation and enroll in college-level math and English within a shorter time frame. This study examines three developmental acceleration programs, including two in…

Previously, we analyzed the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation in terms of a resources-based model that allows for clustering of questions so as to provide useful information on how students correctly or incorrectly reason about physics. In this paper, we apply model analysis to show that the associated model plots provide more information…

The community college baccalaureate and the university-center baccalaureate models are gaining traction in the state of California as alternatives to addressing the need for greater access to baccalaureate degree programs and to increase the baccalaureate-educated workforce. Little is known about the characteristics and factors associated with the…

At community colleges, student preparedness for college-level work is a significant initial barrier. Over 70% of community college students are reported to be inadequately prepared for college mathematics. Because students need to pass college-level math in order to enroll in subsequent courses required for their majors or to complete general…

Objective: This study analyzes how ethnicity, gender, and non-traditional student characteristics relate to differential online versus face-to-face outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses at community colleges. Method: This study used a sample of 3,600 students in online and face-to-face courses matched by…

This study examined Ohio's community college performance funding model that is based on seven student success metrics. A percentage of the regular state subsidy is withheld from institutions; funding is earned back based on the three-year average of success points achieved in comparison to other community colleges in the state. Analysis of…

College student persistence has been a concern of researchers and practitioners since the early 1960s. Traditional models have addressed the need for students to be integrated into the academic and social domains of the college campus. Recently, critical theorists and researchers have been questioning the relevance of the traditional models for…

The issue of teacher shortages across the state and nation, especially in rural areas, is a complex one. The disparity between the number of teachers produced and what is needed to fill classrooms across the nation in states where student populations are growing is exacerbated by issues of attrition of current educators. Mandates for production of…

In the United States, community colleges serve nearly half of the 18 million students enrolled in postsecondary education. However, it has only been the last decade or so where these public, two-year institutions have claimed substantial attention from the research community. This dissertation consists of three essays that focus on aspects of the…

Many students lack adequate mathematic skills and must enroll in developmental math programs to satisfy the math requirement to earn a college degree, but developmental programs are often problematic with high failure rates, preventing graduation. This study examined whether the emporium model, a computer-based developmental math tool, was more…